Day 2 Seminar_Going Digital PAS conference Feb 2025_web.pptx

We hear from MHCLG’s digital team on the progress so far, and one of the councils who has been part of Open Digital Planning for years. We will share some ideas about what might be next, and how leaders of services can prepare for a more digital future. If you can feel the potential that better ICT and use of data can bring but don’t know where to start this session is for you.

1. Going Digital PAS Conference February 28th

2. What is this session all about?

3. MHCLG’s Digital Planning Programme: A Brief Overview Matt Wood-Hill & Tom Lowndes 12 February 2025 February 2025

4. The vision “Make the planning system in England fit for the 21st Century”

5. A 21st century planning system A digital planning digital, technology and data ecosystem that: Meets the needs of its users Makes the most of rich planning data Based on common standards Ready for emerging technologies

6. 2022-2025 Spending Review Period “Build the foundations that enable the planning system to transform”

7. Doing planning differently: Accelerating change across the sector

8. We’ve built a national Planning Data platform

9. National m ap of p lanning d ata

10. We’re designing new regulations that will enable teams to make the most of rich planning data Processing of planning data Provision of planning data Certain planning data to be made publicly available Use of approved planning data software Planning data does not infringe copyright in certain cases

11. PropTech Innovation: showing the art of the possible Plan-making Site Identification & Assembly  Public Consultations Viability & Feasibility Assessment 4-6 month reduction in Local Plan  timeline including over 200 weeks of planning officer time savings 95% reduction in time to assess new sites (from 2 hours to 20 minutes per site) £11k license for tech to assess all sites vs. £120k consultant fee paid by LPA for 6 months work 2-3 x increase in number of homes built on small sites within the Plan Period Able to identify and analyse  191x as many plots of land using PropTech 300% increase in community responses to consultation  37% increase in positive sentiment for new development proposed Monitoring Reduced time and cost burden for ongoing compliance with regulatory requirements like biodiversity net gain Nottingham's Digital Twin saved £55k per year Planning process Example PropTech  Solutions PropTech impact

12. Digital Site Notice / Digital Planning Register PlanX: Application submission and guidance services BOPS: Back Office Planning System BUILT BY LOCAL GOV BUILT BY LOCAL GOV BUILT BY LOCAL GOV We’ve developed new digital services Pioneering Local Authorities have come together to design and launch new digital services for planning applications. These are 30% more efficient than existing systems.

13. opendigitalplanning.org We’ve established Open Digital Planning, the council-led community for forward-thinking planning teams 100+ member LPAs and counting

14. Doncaster Council Jenna Rumley - Technical Support & Innovation Manager

15. Where we started and what we wanted to achieve… Improve our customer submission journey Reduce the number of invalid planning applications Reduce time spent validating applications Reduce enquiries burden Wider collaboration with councils on digital planning and innovations Expanding our digital planning skills Expanding our digital planning opportunities

16. What we had to do…

17. What we’ve achieved to date

18. Impact 70% Reduction in un-necessary enforcement complaints

19. What does all of this mean from a council perspective?

20. Community-as-a-Service Community builds trust - members recognise that people are in the same situation as they are. Familiarity and trust leads to more open and honest conversations and willingness to share Connect people across LPAs; create a peer support network Run forums for knowledge exchange between LPAs and central government Help people organise with purpose via projects and collaborative groups Encourage learning through project activities, learning sessions and training

21. The Digital Planning Improvement journey Join the ODP community Baseline digital maturity of planning service Improve & publish your planning data Take part in ODP collaborative groups Adopt modern technology, data and planning practices Access training opportunities The starting point for new Open Digital Planning member authorities

22. We provide a service to LPAs: Digital Planning Maturity Assessment Upload agreed scores for DPMA via online survey Review guidance, and collectively assess where your department scored 3. Receive your results and action plan template

23. A note on maturity levels Maturity levels are generally cumulative. However, they are not discrete levels from 1 to 5. Your organisation may be in between levels. This is a continual journey. Even in a “mature” organisation there will need to be constant improvement. It’s normal to not be starting at the same level in each area. You may discover differences, even within the same service or team.

24. Going Digital Self Assessment exercise – how ready are you?

25. Averaged results - summary Digital & Design Skills Level 2 Emerging 2.0 Aims to enhance digital capabilities through training and early-stage digital projects, but substantial development is still necessary. Acquiring team resources poses challenges. Tech and Products Level 3 Learning 2.9 Split between on-premises and cloud infrastructure. Digital planning service meets basic needs of residents. Team is moderately skilled in tools and software, with room for improvement. Data and insights Level 3 Learning 3.0 The service uses some elements of data-driven decision-making and service design but lacks consistent application across all areas. Most insights are not yet self-serve. Procurement Level 3 Learning 2.9 Inconsistent relationships with suppliers, but trending toward improved maturity in communication, cooperation, and efficiency. Efforts underway to refine practices for contract compliance, performance tracking, and relationship management. Leadership & governance Level 3 Learning 3.1 There’s a good level of transparency and collaboration. Ongoing efforts to identify key decision-makers and streamline processes. Governance practices face challenges but demonstrate an effective approach. Culture & WoW Level 3 Learning 3.4 Increasingly open culture with a level of transparency and collaboration. A balanced approach to risk and innovation is evident. Some adaptability to change exists, with limited effort to strengthen team bonds. Citizen engagement Level 3 Learning 3.2 Reliant on website and mailing list for planning communication. Accessibility varies, and much information is in less accessible PDFs. Actively trying to cultivate better relationships with residents but facing large challenges in collaboration and communication.

26. Digital and design skills Tech and products Data and insights Procurement Leadership & governance Culture and WoW Citizen engagement 10 20 30 40 50 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Averaged results - breakdown by level and theme Number of LPAs

27. The Digital Planning Improvement journey Join the ODP community Baseline digital maturity of planning service Improve & publish your planning data Take part in ODP collaborative groups Adopt modern technology, data and planning practices Access training opportunities The starting point for new Open Digital Planning member authorities, with funding from MHCLG

28. Each LPA’s approach will be different

29. Takeaways Baselining Digital Maturity is a good place to start Over 120 LPAs are working on service modernisation initiatives in the ODP network, plus others delivering innovation projects PAS will become more involved Digital/Data Learning & Development Register to join Open Digital Planning; MHCLG funding is available. [email protected]

30. Final thoughts: As Heads of Service... Consider how many of your staff you want to develop digital and data understanding within the next 3 years Let's keep talking about what local planning services will look like in 5 years' time

31. [email protected] Thank you